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TREM2 and Neurodegenerative Disease
Christiane Reitz, Richard P Mayeux. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013-10-16
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
We and other members of the Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Consortium assembled multiple data sets from a total of 5896 black patients (1968 cases and 3928 controls). First, the association of Alzheimer’s disease with genotyped and imputed SNPs was individually assessed in each data set with the use of logistic regression for case–control data sets and generalized estimating equations for family-based data sets (with adjustment for age, sex, the presence or absence of the apolipoprotein E [APOE] e4 allele, and population stratification). The results from the individual data sets were combined in a genomewide inverse-variance-weighted meta-analysis. Subsequently, a versatile gene-based association study (VEGAS)3 was performed specifically to explore the association of the TREM2 gene with Alzheimer’s disease; the addition of 20 kb to each side yielded a list of SNPs (see the Supplementary Appendix, available with the full text of this letter at NEJM.org). With the use of simulation based on the linkage-disequilibrium structure of a group of reference samples from HapMap, VEGAS allowed us to calculate the empirical P value for associations between disease status and variants in TREM2 while taking into account gene size and linkage disequilibrium between the markers.3
Why it matters
Describes how members of the Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Consortium tested variants in the TREM2 gene for association with Alzheimer's disease in data sets from 5896 black participants (1968 cases and 3928 controls).
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How this study scored 51/100
Published in a top-tier journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on strength of evidence, so that was left out: it earned 48 of the 95 points we could judge it on, which is 51 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 10 / 10 | Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (New England Journal of Medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | New England Journal of Medicine: journal h-index 1,505 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | — / 5 | No evidence rating recorded — left out of this score |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 254 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 16.9 citations a year over 15 year(s) since 2013 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 18.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 21 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Richard P Mayeux: h-index 158 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 48 / 95 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 48 of the 95 points we could judge it on is 51 out of 100. |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Reitz, C., & Mayeux, R. P. (2013). TREM2 and Neurodegenerative Disease. New England Journal of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmc1306509
Vancouver
Reitz C, Mayeux RP. TREM2 and Neurodegenerative Disease. New England Journal of Medicine. 2013. doi:10.1056/nejmc1306509.
BibTeX
@article{reitz2013-1f8a1527,
author = {Reitz, Christiane and Mayeux, Richard P},
title = {{TREM2 and Neurodegenerative Disease}},
journal = {New England Journal of Medicine},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1056/nejmc1306509},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmc1306509}
}
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